Eh. . . Istanbul hotel/activity recommendations?

In My Humble Opinion
1

There’s an outside chance that I might have a vacation to Istanbul in the next year. Just looking for any leads on lodging accomodations that have a balance between cost, location, and transportation that won’t put me in a ghetto.

Obviously, I’d like to do the touristy things: *Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi, the Bazaar, but if there are any other things off the beaten path, feel free to mention them, too. (I think a day trip to Izmir might be cool, but don’t know that I’ll be able to fit it in.)

*(Also, what’s a reasonable time frame to allow for these?

2

I stayed in a place that overlooked the Blue Mosque and was walking distance from the Grand Bazaar. It was very cheap, but alas, I don’t recall the name of it. There were a lot of small hotels in that area, as I recall.

3

Well, a lot of these things are REALLY close together, in the Sultanahmet area. The Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque face each other with a plaza between them. The Topkapi is a very short walk away from them, with the Archaeology Museum between them. The bazaar is a couple stops away on the tram.

For this reason, most tourists tend to stay in Sultanahmet. It’s extremely convenient for visiting all of these places and there are a ton of hotels and hostels that fit every budget range. It is in no way a ghetto, it’s really quite nice.

On the downside, Sultanahmet is a somewhat annoying place. It’s filled with people trying to sell you carpets at every turn, and the food you’re aggressively hawked is mostly mediocre. So it’s a tradeoff. Personally, I stayed there (in the Orient Hostel, which was nice if you like hosteling) and I don’t regret it. I was only in Istanbul for a few days and it made sightseeing very convenient. OTOH, a friend of mine stayed in Taksim, on the other side of the Golden Horn, and he liked that because it was more “ordinary big city” and people weren’t constantly trying to sell him shit. But it’s quite a distance from Taksim to Sultanahmet which is, like I said, where all of the places you’ve mentioned except the bazaar are located.

I haven’t been to Izmir, but I have been to Selcuk/Ephesus and Pamukkale, if you’re interested in going farther afield from Istanbul.

4

Taksim Square is where to go for night life. The hotels around there are reasonably priced, and the food is good. Not far from the Square is a bazaar with an outdoor hookah bar. Be sure to stay off the grass.

Sultanahmet is a section of town that you could literally spend your entire trip in. There are many old palaces to see (be sure to check out Dolmabahçe Palace) and the section has tons of fabulous restaurants.

Another thought: If you’re interested in checking out the mosques in the city, most will let foreigners in. Take off your shoes, make sure any women you are with cover their heads, stay in the fenced-in area, and don’t talk above a whisper. You may get a few stares but you should be all right as long as an imam doesn’t start screaming at you (like one did at us :slight_smile: ).

5

What, do you have a date in Constantinople?

:wink:

(Sorry, had to be done.)

6

If you’re in any way interested in militaria, don’t miss the Istanbul Military Museum - it has the finest collection of arms, armor and uniforms I’ve seen anywhere, and I’ve been to quite a few of these places. Also, unlike other places, it isn’t overrun by tourists.

7

Staying in Sultanahmet is probably your best bet despite being touristy… there is just so much there.

I highly recommend the Side Pension (pronounced Seed-eh) www.sidehotel.com. About €40 for a double and super friendly, clean and a great location. I stay there most every visit to Istanbul.

4-5 days would be enough to see most of the main sites, but you could spend much longer if you have time. It is one of the great cities of the world.

8

I stayed at Hotel Empress Zoe. It’s a nice, small hotel right near the Haghia Sofiya, etc. You can walk everywhere. Make sure not to miss the Mosaic Museum, in addition to all the other things that I’m sure are already on your list!

p.s. – Don’t try to wear shorts into a mosque. At the Blue Mosque they were handing out blankets to guys who didn’t know any better. Smaller mosques won’t have blankets!

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p.p.s. – The Empress Zoe has a small bar on the roof which opens in the afternoon.

10

We also stayed in Sultanahmet for a week - most hotels have a rooftop terrace overlooking the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, and there seems to be little that differentiates them. But you do want one with the view - it’s the absolute best thing.

Besides the things others have mentioned (the mosques, the Tokapi Palace, the bazaar), I have a very cheap recommendation and a pricy one. Cheap - take the local ferry up the Bosphorus to one of the ports further up. It’s a great way to cruise, and it’s very scenic. We grabbed a cheap kebab wrap from one of the stalls alongside the dock at Eminönü, and stopped for tea further up.

Expensive - we rented a car, driver and guide for a day to take us to the Troy site, Çanakkale and Gallipoli, including Anzac Cove and the cemetaries. Particularly meaningful if you are an Aussie or NZer, but may be a long day and less interesting if not. What was great was having that one on one time with a Turk - we spent the day talking about life there, and learnt a whole lot, more than we would have gotten by wandering around by ourselves.

If you have a few extra days, we also took a day trip to Ephesus - again, an easy thing to organise through most of the travel agencies around Sultanahmet.

Take a stroll in the evening down to the Blue Mosque (stopping for an interesting dessert along the way - rice pudding, yum!) - it’s all lit up, and when we were there (Sept 05) they were doing a light show in the evening. Like an Islamic version of the castle at Disneyland.

We didn’t spend a lot of time in the new part of the city, but if I went back I would. We did climb the Galata Tower which had great views.

Oooh, and make sure you have a Turkish Bath! Here’s my blog post from the day I visited:

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Stay out of the taxis. I almost met Allah in one.

12

It depends what the OP’s definition of “ghetto” is, but I honestly think the best places to stay in Instanbul are on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. There are some nice hotels over there, good value and you actually get a better view of Sultanahmet district, and you’re still only a quick and pleasant ferry ride away from the main attractions. So don’t rule out Kadikoy, Uskudar etc.

13

I was just in Turkey in September-October (I eventually wrote up my whole trip on TravelPod if you want to have a look) and while in Istanbul we stayed at a place called Atlantis Hotel in Sultanahmet. It was 55 Euros for a double bed, 35 for a single. I rather enjoyed it there; the rooftop terrace didn’t have a very spectacular view I suppose but the location was fantastic. We were an easy walk to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, and Spice Bazaar, and the Sultanahmet tram stop was at the base of the street the hotel was on.

OTTOMH, I spent about 4 hours at Topkapi palace and didn’t see enough (just the Treasury and the Harem and the palace grounds). Could do a whole day there easily, especially if you wanted to take a guided tour. 2 hours at Hagia Sophia (half of it is currently blocked up with scaffolding), 2 hours at Blue Mosque, a whole afternoon at the Grand Bazaar, an hour or so at the Spice Bazaar.

For other things to do in Istanbul, might I suggest the following:

Check out Biletix.com and try to see a concert/play in Aya Irini - I think it’s the oldest standing building in Istanbul, it’s a little church in the Topkapi palace grounds. The acoustics are fantastic and the somewhat barren and ascetic-looking church really gives you a break from having colourful mosaics and frescoes leaping out at you from every available surface like so many other churches in the city. [2 hrs]

The Istanbul Archaeological Museum (also on Topkapi palace grounds) is a must-see, especially the Museum of the Ancient Orient. It has an amazing collection. [3-4 hrs depending on how thorough you are in a museum. Has a childrens’ museum in it too if that is of any use to you.]

A walk up Istiklal Caddesi in Beyoglu, in the evening, culminating in Taksim Square as previously recommended, is a great way to spend a night. Lots of little book stores, quirky shops, restaurants, and a good night scene. There’s also a church here that holds concerts as well, but I can’t tell you much about it 'cause I passed on it.

A cruise on the Bosphorus is a great idea, but I would recommend against taking an organised tour (especially if it’s SheTours). I ended up paying 65 Euros for something that really should have only cost 1/4 to 1/3 of that, including all of our travel on public transportation. I’d take the public ferries up and down the Bosphorus, or possibly head over to the Asian side and take ferries out to the Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmara if you want to make a day of it.

I had a great time at Miniaturk (take the Bosphorus ferry to Sutluce and it’s a 20-min walk from there) - but that was at the end of 5 weeks of hardcore museum- and ruins-faring travel. It’s a silly little place with miniature statues of all the sights to see around Turkey. It’s kinda cool 'cause it shows what the sites would have looked like in their prime, rather than ravaged by age and the British Museum :wink: [1 1/2 - 2 hrs]

Chora Church in Edirnekapi is beautiful, and right next door there is a restaurant that serves authentic medieval Ottoman recipes from Topkapi palace. Gimmicky and expensive? Sure, but also a really cool experience. [1 hr]

Grand Palace Mosaic Museum in the bazaar behind the Blue Mosque is pretty cool too. Best mosaics I saw in my whole trip :slight_smile: [1 hr]

Really, you can’t go wrong in Istanbul, it’s full of awesome.

As for day trips, Edirne is nice, Troy/Gallipoli is pretty good but Troy is mostly not-there, so if you can swing a trip out to Ephesos for some seriously awe-inspiring ruins you should give that a try. I might also recommend Pamukkale if you can get a tour that will take you to Aphrodisias 30km away - Aphrodisias is as amazing as Ephesos but fewer people are there. (When I was in Ephesos there must have been, I don’t know, 5,000 other people there?)

Hope some of this information helps!

14

My wife and I spent part of a day walking around the neighborhoods in the Western District near the walls. For the most part, they are now working class neighborhoods that were once ethnic enclaves. For the most part, these neighborhoods are fairly old and are off the beaten path for tourists. We walked through a local market and it was interesting. We also walked through a local market on the Asian side of the City which was enormous. We went more to get a feel for the atmosphere of the City and to look around rather than buy, but it was amazing. We ate lunch at a kabob stand in the middle of it which was pretty good.

Personally, I would stay near Taksim and travel to Sultanahmet. We stayed in Sultanahmet and it was nice, but a large portion of the restaurants were tourist traps. I think that it would be livelier in the evenings as well. We tended to eat dinner in smaller places off the main street where the prices were probably half to a third what the places on the Divan Yolu charged.

15

I’ve stayed at the Kybele Hotel twice and loved it. It’s family owned and they’ll arrange to pick you up at the airport for like $40 IIRC. They provide breakfast but there’s no restaurant in the hotel. It’s walking distance to everything and is full of character. I love Istanbul - enjoy!